Cain, Simpson to Face Off at adidas Grand Prix

Felix Sanchez, Robert Harting, Top HJ Field also set for NYC on June 14

NEW YORK CITY (May 15, 2014)—A two-time Olympic gold medalist, a three-time World Champion, and the most-dynamic young American track star in a generation are among the latest athletes added to the roster for the adidas Grand Prix on June 14, organizers announced today.

Tickets for the event, which is marking its 10th year of bringing the world’s top athletes to Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, are on sale now at www.adidasgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

Mary Cain, who earlier this month turned 18, rewrote the record books last year by breaking high school and/or U.S. junior marks at eight distances—including 1500 meters—and becoming the youngest athlete ever to represent the U.S. at the IAAF World Championships. So far in 2014, she has twice broken the World Junior Record for 1000 meters indoors, and won the U.S. indoor 1500-meter title.

Cain, set to receive her high school diploma a week after the meet, will be competing just 15 miles from her hometown of Bronxville, NY.

Among the athletes she will face at 1500 meters is American Jenny Simpson, the 2011 IAAF World Champion. The last time the two met was in the final of the World Championships last summer, where Simpson won a silver medal and Cain finished 10th. Also in the NYC field is Morgan Uceny, a three-time U.S. champion who in 2011 was ranked #1 in the world at the distance.

Leading the heavily decorated veterans will be Felix Sanchez of Dominican Republic andRobert Harting of Germany. Between them, they own three Olympic gold medals, five World Championship titles, and have been ranked #1 in the world nine times.

Sanchez, 36, became 400-meter hurdles World Champion for the first time in 2001, and then repeated in 2003 before winning his first Olympic gold medal in 2004. In 2012, he won his second Olympic gold when he surprised the field in London. Sanchez was ranked #1 in the world by Track and Field News magazine for four consecutive years from 2001 to 2004.

Harting, 29, is the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and three-time defending World Champion in the discus. Known for his wild victory celebrations at major competitions, Harting has been ranked #1 in the world for the past five years.

Yet another World Champion slated to compete is American Jesse Williams, who won the world high-jump title in 2011 and in NYC will be part of what could be an historic competition. Bohdan Bondarenko, the 2013 World Champion ranked #1 in the world;Erik Kynard, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist; and Mutaz Barshim, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, have all been previously announced, and all three are off to a hot start in what some predict will be a World Record-breaking season in the discipline.

Among the other medal-winning headliners will be:

• Tiffany Porter of Great Britain, the 2013 World Championships bronze medalist in the 100-meter hurdles and two-time World Indoor medalist who will meet the previously announced Sally Pearson, the reigning Olympic gold medalist;

• Warren Weir of Jamaica, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and 2013 World Championships silver medalist at 200 meters; and

• Marvin Bracy, another young American star who, at just 20, won the 2014 U.S. indoor 60-meter title in 6.48 seconds, the second-fastest time in the world this year, before bringing home a silver medal from the World Indoor Championships. In 2011, as a high school senior, Bracy won the Boys’ Dream 100 at this meet.

Other Olympic or World Champions already announced are David Rudisha, Jenn Suhr,Yohan Blake, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Valerie Adams, and Christine Ohuruogu.

One of the premier track-and-field events in the world, the adidas Grand Prix has hosted two World Records and 15 National Records in its first nine years, and its fans have had the privilege of witnessing almost a dozen performances that were the fastest ever recorded on U.S. soil.

The sixth stop on the international IAAF Diamond League circuit, the adidas Grand Prixis in its 10th year at Icahn Stadium, in conjunction with the Randall’s Island Sports Alliance. The latest news, photos and information on the event can be found atwww.adidasgrandprix.com; on Facebook and on Twitter.